'Stonehearst Asylum,' movie review

"Stonehearst Asylum," Brad Anderson's adaptation of an Edgar Allan Poe story, is undeniably preposterous. But if you accept the grandly Gothic insanity here, there's a lot of fun to be had.

Kate Beckinsale plays Eliza, a troubled aristocrat hospitalized in 1899 for "hysteria." A young doctor named Newgate (Jim Sturgess) witnesses her humiliation at a conference organized by a brutal physician (Brendan Gleeson) and vows to rescue her from her sadistic hospital.

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When Newgate arrives, he's stunned to see Eliza seemingly cured and managing the institution, alongside the enigmatic Silas Lamb (Ben Kingsley, delightful). According to Dr. Salt (Michael Caine), who is imprisoned in the basement, the lunatics are indeed running the asylum. But then, Dr. Salt's medically sanctioned methods are so cruel that one begins to wonder who is really crazy.

Anderson ("The Call") and writer Joe Gangemi take Poe's original premise and double down, adding wild-eyed revelations and operatic atmospherics. They infuse the whole nutty affair with a surprising dose of deep compassion. In the end, it's the humanity, not the horror, that sticks with you.